Community Spotlight: Dave Rosser on Multi-store Events

The former local coordinator for the Omaha-area, Dave Rosser remains the go-to guy for the Adventurers League questions in Nebraska and continues to help organize the AL for local game days, conventions, and Facebook groups.

A particularly special event he organized, however, was the Tour of Annihilation, a 10-day, multi-store gaming event inspired by the Wizards of the Coast’s Stream of Annihilation.

Seeking a way to help nearby stores grow awareness of their D&D events and recruit new players, Dave conceived of a similar big festival celebrating the new book launch… but at a local level. Across 10 days and 13 stores, Dave and his community of Dungeon Masters ran a couple hours of mini adventures from the introductory Season 7 module (DDAL07-01 A City on the Edge) as they hopped across different Nebraska venues each night.

Dave shared his insights learned from putting together the Tour of Annihilation and brainstormed with me ideas for the next big launch for Mordenkeinan’s Tome of Foes… Working title? The Fair of Foes!

Better Together. The scale and excitement of the Tour generates buzz beyond what an individual store might be able to accomplish, and it benefits all those involved. The “megaphone” of advertising this special event at all of the shops and across all of their Facebook groups drew in players from even hours away, Dave said. It also attracted players totally new to D&D and people who played previous editions but were curious about 5e. Some individuals attended multiple days at multiple stores to play more of the mini adventures, while some were drawn to their most local location.

Bringing Stores On Board. It does take effort to coordinate all of the stores and their individual events, so Dave recommends starting communications early and ensuring you identify your contact at the store and check in with them frequently. Dave also says to expect wildly different receptions to the idea of the event. Some stores did not fully understand the concept, so Dave explained it would be like any other game night. Others were on board immediately and created their own flyers and plugged the event online. Dave says those locations that generated more excitement themselves got more out of the events.

Harness Social Media. Dave says Facebook and Meetup were crucial to recruiting attendees. He recommends scheduling individual events on Facebook for each night/store, so players can RSVP to the events most relevant to them. He also recommends posting helpful links to pre-generated character sheets, the Adventurers League Player’s Guide, and the FAQ in these events for easy access.

Have FUN With It. Brainstorming back and forth with Dave for the Fair of Foes, Dave threw out the idea of creating t-shirts in the style of a band tour. We also chatted about creating a passport-style flyer that players could get stamped when attending different game shops during the event and present to redeem special offers or turn in for raffle prizes, encouraging players new and old to truly go on a “dice crawl” and explore different venues. Dave mentioned he also might explore streaming the next event online.

Take Care of Yourself and Your DMs. Dave says his personal super power is the ability to DM nonstop but recognizes that running games every day can take a toll on any DM. He recommends recruiting several Dungeon Masters for a rotating schedule, arming everyone with water and cough drops, and ensuring there is an emergency DM kit accessible to all with character sheets, log sheets, and pre-gens. (Note: Especially on weeknights, Dave says pre-gens are handy when there is little time to help with character creation.) Dave also ensures he rewards his Dungeon Masters with a “Slot 0” game to thank them for all of their hard work.

The Adventurers League Community Spotlight features members of our community accomplishing cool things and sharing their tips to make your AL experience equally cool. If you know someone who makes your AL community better, e-mail [email protected] to tell us why they should be featured in the next Community Spotlight.

With roots in event organizing for her local AL scene, Lysa’s passion lies in growing and creating a more inclusive D&D community. She serves as a Community Manager for the Adventurers League and the Dungeon Masters Guild and produces and hosts Behold Her, a monthly podcast about women in the world of tabletop games. Her D&D portfolio, interviews, actual play appearances, and other creative pursuits can be found on www.lysachen.com.

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With roots in event organizing for her local AL scene, Lysa’s passion lies in growing and creating a more inclusive D&D community. She serves as a Community Manager for the Adventurers League and the Dungeon Masters Guild and produces and hosts Behold Her, a monthly podcast about women in the world of tabletop games. Her D&D portfolio, interviews, actual play appearances, and other creative pursuits can be found on www.lysachen.com.